tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9223017311865240892019-03-21T15:47:11.199+02:00AI Applications in the fields of Multimedia, Computer Vision and Robotics"Image processing is any form of information processing for which the input is an image, such as photographs or frames of video; the output is not necessarily an image, but can be for instance a set of features of the image. Most image-processing techniques involve treating the image as a two-dimensional signal and applying standard signal-processing techniques to it." WikipediaSavvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.comBlogger941125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-34866908654790897952019-03-21T15:47:00.001+02:002019-03-21T15:47:11.060+02:00NVIDIA Research project uses AI to instantly turn drawings into photorealistic images<p>NVIDIA Research has demonstrated GauGAN, a deep learning model that converts simple doodles into photorealistic images. The tool crafts images nearly instantaneously, and can intelligently adjust elements within images, such as adding reflections to a body of water when trees or mountains are placed near it.<p>The new tool is made possible using generative adversarial networks called GANs. With GauGAN, users select image elements like 'snow' and 'sky,' then draw lines to segment an image into different elements. The AI automatically generates the appropriate image for that element, such as a cloudy sky, grass, and trees.<p>As NVIDIA reveals in its demonstration video, GauGAN maintains a realistic image by dynamically adjusting parts of the render to match new elements. For example, transforming a grassy field to a snow-covered landscape will result in an automatic sky change, ensuring the two elements are compatible and realistic.<p>GauGAN was trained using millions of images of real environments. In addition to generating photorealistic landscapes, the tool allows users to apply style filters, including ones that give the appearance of sunset or a particular painting style. According to NVIDIA, the technology could be used to generate images of other environments, including buildings and people.<p>Talking about GauGAN is NVIDIA VP of applied deep learning research Bryan Catanzaro, <a href="https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2019/03/18/gaugan-photorealistic-landscapes-nvidia-research/">who explained</a>:<p><em>This technology is not just stitching together pieces of other images, or cutting and pasting textures. It's actually synthesizing new images, very similar to how an artist would draw something.</em><p>NVIDIA envisions a tool based on GauGAN could one day be used by architects and other professionals who need to quickly fill a scene or visualize an environment. Similar technology may one day be offered as a tool in image editing applications, enabling users to add or adjust elements in photos.<p>The company offers online demos of other AI-based tools on its <a href="https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/research/ai-playground/">AI Playground</a>.<p><a title="https://www.dpreview.com/news/7387722427/nvidia-research-project-uses-ai-to-instantly-turn-drawings-into-photorealistic-images?fbclid=IwAR2FvvIk-RT_Ow_-0m6pl_Sl1Y-v-_YLpvcBj63a8-D0XOBxGjv2LRG9sVU" href="https://www.dpreview.com/news/7387722427/nvidia-research-project-uses-ai-to-instantly-turn-drawings-into-photorealistic-images?fbclid=IwAR2FvvIk-RT_Ow_-0m6pl_Sl1Y-v-_YLpvcBj63a8-D0XOBxGjv2LRG9sVU">https://www.dpreview.com/news/7387722427/nvidia-research-project-uses-ai-to-instantly-turn-drawings-into-photorealistic-images?fbclid=IwAR2FvvIk-RT_Ow_-0m6pl_Sl1Y-v-_YLpvcBj63a8-D0XOBxGjv2LRG9sVU</a></p>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-1759475356971229672019-02-15T17:32:00.001+02:002019-02-15T17:38:43.634+02:00ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com uses AI to generate endless fake faces<p><img width="457" height="457" src="https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/"><p>The ability of AI to generate fake visuals is not yet mainstream knowledge, but a new website — <a href="https://www.thispersondoesnotexist.com/">ThisPersonDoesNotExist.com</a> — offers a quick and persuasive education.<p>The site is the creation of Philip Wang, a software engineer at Uber, and uses research <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/17/18144356/ai-image-generation-fake-faces-people-nvidia-generative-adversarial-networks-gans">released last year</a> by chip designer Nvidia to create an endless stream of fake portraits. The algorithm behind it is trained on a huge dataset of real images, then uses a type of neural network known as a <a href="https://www.lyrn.ai/2018/12/26/a-style-based-generator-architecture-for-generative-adversarial-networks/?fbclid=IwAR0bngOpEfmesyWSOC4Y83ctJVwrdltZxCFN2Km0YJiAOL5qXFNGazLZnsE">generative adversarial network</a> (or GAN) to fabricate new examples.<p>“Each time you refresh the site, the network will generate a new facial image from scratch,” wrote Wang in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/DeepNetGroup/permalink/805364403189777/">Facebook post</a>. He added in a statement to <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/7xn4wy/this-website-uses-ai-to-generate-the-faces-of-people-who-dont-exist"><em>Motherboard</em></a>: “Most people do not understand how good AIs will be at synthesizing images in the future.”<p>The underlying AI framework powering the site was originally invented by a researcher named <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/610253/the-ganfather-the-man-whos-given-machines-the-gift-of-imagination/">Ian Goodfellow</a>. Nvidia’s take on the algorithm, named StyleGAN, was made open source recently and has proven to be incredibly flexible. Although this version of the model is trained to generate human faces, it can, in theory, mimic any source. Researchers are already experimenting with other targets. including <a href="https://twitter.com/gwern/status/1095131651246575616">anime characters</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/kikko_fr/status/1095603397179396098">fonts</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/PINguAR/status/1095650969801629696">graffiti</a>.<p><a title="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/2/15/18226005/ai-generated-fake-people-portraits-thispersondoesnotexist-stylegan?fbclid=IwAR1Wdm9r_ImUdQiY7QsVSYtdjLOxEqJ0JjnWwlmnFzAJbuEVx0Ynm9gP97w" href="https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/2/15/18226005/ai-generated-fake-people-portraits-thispersondoesnotexist-stylegan?fbclid=IwAR1Wdm9r_ImUdQiY7QsVSYtdjLOxEqJ0JjnWwlmnFzAJbuEVx0Ynm9gP97w">https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2019/2/15/18226005/ai-generated-fake-people-portraits-thispersondoesnotexist-stylegan?fbclid=IwAR1Wdm9r_ImUdQiY7QsVSYtdjLOxEqJ0JjnWwlmnFzAJbuEVx0Ynm9gP97w</a>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-26846450500992570902019-02-14T14:25:00.001+02:002019-02-14T14:25:15.758+02:00How artificial intelligence is shaking up the job market<p align="justify"><br></p><p align="justify">The future of work is usually discussed in theoretical terms. Reports and opinion pieces cover the full spectrum of opinion, from the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/01/robots-take-our-jobs-amazon-go-seattle">dystopian landscape</a> that leaves millions unemployed, to <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/367900-working-alongside-ai-in-tomorrows-labor-market">new opportunities</a> for social and economic mobility that could transform society for the better.<p align="justify">The World Economic Forum’s <a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2018">The Future of Jobs 2018</a> aims to base this debate on facts rather than speculation. By tracking the acceleration of technological change as it gives rise to new job roles, occupations and industries, the report evaluates the changing contours of work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.<p align="justify">One of the primary drivers of change identified is the role of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. The report seeks to shed more light on the role of new technologies in the labour market, and to bring more clarity to the debate about how AI could both create and limit economic opportunity. With 575 million members globally, LinkedIn’s platform provides a unique vantage point into global labour-market developments, enabling us to support the Forum's examination of the trends that will shape the future of work.<p align="justify">Our analysis uncovered two concurrent trends: the continued rise of tech jobs and skills, and, in parallel, a growth in what we call “human-centric” jobs and skills. That is, those that depend on intrinsically human qualities.<p align="justify"><a title="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/artificial-intelligence-shaking-up-job-market?fbclid=IwAR0FVmPAgcivWKx5D-68S9oW7E-EIY9LCg8qdfWpP3XIXlXqeTm0tSxK6pc" href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/artificial-intelligence-shaking-up-job-market?fbclid=IwAR0FVmPAgcivWKx5D-68S9oW7E-EIY9LCg8qdfWpP3XIXlXqeTm0tSxK6pc">https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/artificial-intelligence-shaking-up-job-market?fbclid=IwAR0FVmPAgcivWKx5D-68S9oW7E-EIY9LCg8qdfWpP3XIXlXqeTm0tSxK6pc</a></p><p align="justify">Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-57650443336037441872019-01-10T10:58:00.001+02:002019-01-10T11:00:00.652+02:00UBTECH's Walker Robot<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gOpQlk8afzs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></iframe><p>Walker is one of newest robots from UBTECH Robotics. Below is just a few of the features and technologies used in its development.</p><p> 1.Flexible walking on complex terrain: With gait planning and control, Walker can achieve stable walking on different surfaces including carpet, floor, marble, and more. Walker can also adapt to complex environments such as obstacles, slopes, steps, and uneven ground.</p><p> 2.Self-balancing: When Walker is disturbed by external impact or inertia, it can automatically adjust its center of gravity to maintain balance.</p><p> 3.Hand-eye coordination: Walker’s hands offer seven degrees of freedom to flexibly manipulate objects. By combining its hands with its own perception, Walker can also position dynamic external objects while adapting to uncertain conditions in real-time. </p><p>4.U-SLAM navigation and obstacle avoidance: UBTECH Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (U-SLAM) uses environmental information to avoid obstacles and determine Walker’s best path through a dynamic environment. </p><p>5.Face and object recognition: Walker has powerful machine vision capabilities to detect and recognize corresponding faces and objects in complex background environments.</p><p> 6.Smart home control: Walker can help users control common household equipment such as lighting, electrical appliances and electrical sockets, enhancing safety, convenience, and comfort. </p><p>With so much innovative technology packed into its humanoid robot body, Walker has the intelligence and capabilities to make a helpful impact in any home or business in the very near future. </p><p>Founded in 2012, UBTECH is a global leading AI and humanoid robotic company. In 2018, UBTECH achieved a valuation of USD$5 billion following the single largest funding round ever for an artificial intelligence company, underscoring the company’s technological leadership.</p>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-24347890353349032912019-01-09T15:02:00.001+02:002019-01-09T15:02:15.348+02:00Finally, a Do-It-All Robot Arm That’s Actually Affordable<p>If you want a versatile robot arm, today’s market really only offers two options: expensive industrial robots, or glorified toys. Low-end models may look similar to “real” robot arms, but they don’t usually have the accuracy or repeatability to do actual work. <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hexbot/hexbot-versatile-all-in-1-desktop-robot-arm-for-ev?ref=discovery">The new Hexbot, however, is designed to give you the best of both worlds</a>.<p><img width="537" height="302" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*AHw-BUZX-C24oJ7EeFiXSg.gif"><p>Hexbot just launched on Kickstarter, but has already reached more than three times the $50,000 funding goal. It’s easy to see why; Hexbot is a small, but capable, modular <a href="https://www.hackster.io/robotics">robot arm</a> that costs just $299 through the Kickstarter Special. That price puts it near the bottom of the market, but it has the kinds of features and specs you’d normally only find on mid-level robot arms.<p><a title="https://blog.hackster.io/finally-a-do-it-all-robot-arm-thats-actually-affordable-df6252e838e6" href="https://blog.hackster.io/finally-a-do-it-all-robot-arm-thats-actually-affordable-df6252e838e6">https://blog.hackster.io/finally-a-do-it-all-robot-arm-thats-actually-affordable-df6252e838e6</a>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-83717160674710251212019-01-09T11:50:00.001+02:002019-01-09T11:50:19.157+02:00Machine learning leads mathematicians to unsolvable problem<p>A team of researchers has stumbled on a question that is mathematically unanswerable because it is linked to logical paradoxes discovered by Austrian mathematician Kurt Gödel in the 1930s that can’t be solved using standard mathematics.<p>The mathematicians, who were working on a machine-learning problem, show that the question of ‘learnability’ — whether an algorithm can extract a pattern from limited data — is linked to a paradox known as the continuum hypothesis. Gödel showed that the statement cannot be proved either true or false using standard mathematical language. The latest result appeared on 7 January in <i>Nature Machine Intelligence</i><sup><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00083-3?fbclid=IwAR2B5ZH9S4jZF4eLs4hRERF_H0OlzyrhbzQlIV9hzeNcfM-VdZZloqnOj-I#ref-CR1">1</a></sup>.<p>“For us, it was a surprise,” says Amir Yehudayoff at the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, who is a co-author on the paper. He says that although there are a number of technical maths questions that are known to be similarly ‘undecidable’, he did not expect this phenomenon to show up in a relatively simple problem in machine learning.<p>John Tucker, a computer scientist at Swansea University, UK, says that the paper is “a heavyweight result on the limits of our knowledge”, with foundational implications for both mathematics and machine learning.<p><a title="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00083-3?fbclid=IwAR2B5ZH9S4jZF4eLs4hRERF_H0OlzyrhbzQlIV9hzeNcfM-VdZZloqnOj-I" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00083-3?fbclid=IwAR2B5ZH9S4jZF4eLs4hRERF_H0OlzyrhbzQlIV9hzeNcfM-VdZZloqnOj-I">https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00083-3?fbclid=IwAR2B5ZH9S4jZF4eLs4hRERF_H0OlzyrhbzQlIV9hzeNcfM-VdZZloqnOj-I</a></p>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-70061004903923257022019-01-07T11:19:00.001+02:002019-01-07T11:19:08.591+02:00Machine Learning for Kids<p>This tool introduces machine learning by providing hands-on experiences for training machine learning systems and building things with them.<br>It provides an easy-to-use guided environment for training machine learning models for classifying text, numbers or recognising images.<br>This builds on existing efforts to introduce and teach coding to children, by adding these models to <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu/about">Scratch</a> (a widely used educational coding platform), allowing children to create projects and build games with the machine learning models that they've trained.<p><br></p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2drwelVD4Qw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-89234391835650884132018-12-31T10:22:00.001+02:002018-12-31T10:22:06.643+02:00What is Machine Learning?<p><br></p> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LvIa0-ZKCrc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-69102370659820295532018-12-31T10:20:00.001+02:002018-12-31T10:20:35.854+02:00Researchers develop modular robots that can autonomously adapt to changing environment.<p><br></p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n_ZP-bVjFgA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></iframe>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-84552003316698491262018-12-31T10:17:00.001+02:002018-12-31T10:17:49.067+02:00Robots Finally Learning to Clean the Bathroom<p><br></p><p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vx3QdaPD8bw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></iframe></p><p>A useful general home robot, as far as I’m concerned, needs to be able to do three things: fold laundry, wash dishes, and clean toilets. That’s all it would take to make me happy. We’ve seen some attempts at both <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/home-robots/pr2-does-the-impossible-folds-towels">laundry folding</a>and <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/humanoids/a-robot-in-the-kitchen">washing dishes</a>, but not a lot of bathroom cleaning. Now, thanks to the <a href="http://worldrobotsummit.org/en/">World Robot Summit</a> (WRS) in Japan, robots are finally tackling this task. As <a href="http://worldrobotsummit.org/en/wrc2018/service/">part of a competition</a> held at the event, robots had to clean water from around a toilet and clean trash off the floor. Team Homer at the University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany, managed to get things done with a TIAGo mobile manipulator that you could (almost) picture cleaning up your bathroom as well. <p>During the competition, judges randomly sprinkled water on and around a toilet. Teams had to clean at least 80 percent of the liquid and remove trash from the floor in order to get full points.<p><a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/home-robots/robots-finally-learning-to-clean-the-bathroom">Read More</a>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-62311371414439718772018-12-31T10:15:00.001+02:002018-12-31T10:15:49.911+02:00The Robots Roaming the High Seas<p><br></p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iFTToTsJuY0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></iframe>Intelligent, indestructible and with no humans on board, these sailboats are plotting their own course through the waters of San Francisco Bay. If Richard Jenkins gets his way, soon there’ll be hundreds of them – trawling the oceans for data. Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-470430944286356802018-12-22T11:04:00.001+02:002018-12-22T11:04:23.402+02:00remove.bg<p>Remove.bg is a free service to remove the background of any photo. It works 100% automatically: You don't have to manually select the background/foreground layers to separate them - just select your image and instantly download the result image with the background removed!</p><p><img width="543" height="360" src="https://www.remove.bg/images/samples/combined/sample2.jpg"></p><p><a title="https://www.remove.bg/" href="https://www.remove.bg/">https://www.remove.bg/</a></p>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-77483101591998610912018-12-19T12:08:00.001+02:002018-12-19T12:08:32.555+02:00Artificial Intelligence: The AI4EU project launches on 1 January 2019<p align="justify">On 12 December the European Commission and partners of the AI4EU project signed a new grant agreement, paving the way for an AI-on-demand platform for Europe. AI4EU will mobilise the whole European AI ecosystem and already unites 79 partners in 21 countries in a network across Europe and will provide access to relevant AI resources in the EU for all users.<p align="justify">Eight industry-driven AI pilots will demonstrate the value of the AI-on-demand platform as a technological innovation tool. The pilots and research will showcase how AI4EU can stimulate scientific discovery and technological innovation. The AI4EU Ethics Observatory will be established to ensure the respect of human centred AI values. Sustainability will be ensured via the creation of the AI4EU Foundation. The results will feed a new and comprehensive Strategic Research Innovation Agenda for Europe.<p align="justify">The AI4EU project, led by THALES, France, receives a total funding of €20 million over the next 3 years. €3 million will be allocated for Financial Support for Third Parties (FSTPs) to fund promising projects (selected through open competitive calls) exploiting the resources and services offered by the platform to foster technology transfer of AI-based solutions.<p align="justify">The <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/commission-awards-eu66000000-new-robotics-and-artificial-intelligence-projects">Digital Innovation Hubs for robotics</a> will work closely together with the AI-on-demand platform project AI4EU.<p align="justify">On 25th April 2018 the European Commission launched a <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/communication-artificial-intelligence-europe">Communication on artificial intelligence</a>, paving the way towards the development of the AI-on-demand platform. On 7 December 2018 the European Commission presented the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/coordinated-plan-artificial-intelligence">coordinated action plan</a> to foster the development and use of AI in Europe prepared together with Member States and Norway and Switzerland who signed the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/eu-member-states-sign-cooperate-artificial-intelligence">declaration of cooperation on artificial intelligence</a>.</p>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-66796140506944840012018-12-19T12:05:00.001+02:002018-12-19T12:06:21.957+02:00Robotics & AI in the EU<p>The draft ethics guidelines working document from the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ai_hleg?source=feed_text&amp;epa=HASHTAG&amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAMd40a3N4ThPWdzLSg29Dt6QqMXYlAq9GOZR3Y7_D6hn7TnyPrjlkjGXo6etlb0nSIvpYql64zFg2EPleLaLNbYsd9oAmNDnCo-5YVHztOyUSqY3MaeGkK6ANjCUjcIN9ugjnxaezMG20ZMBmXvXBKg0nFKSCq78psZegAVYGyfijQPaFJHOJ6N7_Fgg5Ba8JRMBev0LEIaSA26IXR6Aa3yE6yvQuHeVl87qC0CcZ5JKOnONy3JBsiIoLY8g3h4-GADU8uz4hx7Q6OJJuyu9RIc9p08R5EuI65PQUBBt-ivpYmFsYkB0CLc0kkXdERh0TaSEPB4hNZNDyMacwRUocNUw&amp;__tn__=%2ANK-R">#AI_HLEG</a> is online for stakeholders' consultation in the European <a href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ai?source=feed_text&amp;epa=HASHTAG&amp;__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAMd40a3N4ThPWdzLSg29Dt6QqMXYlAq9GOZR3Y7_D6hn7TnyPrjlkjGXo6etlb0nSIvpYql64zFg2EPleLaLNbYsd9oAmNDnCo-5YVHztOyUSqY3MaeGkK6ANjCUjcIN9ugjnxaezMG20ZMBmXvXBKg0nFKSCq78psZegAVYGyfijQPaFJHOJ6N7_Fgg5Ba8JRMBev0LEIaSA26IXR6Aa3yE6yvQuHeVl87qC0CcZ5JKOnONy3JBsiIoLY8g3h4-GADU8uz4hx7Q6OJJuyu9RIc9p08R5EuI65PQUBBt-ivpYmFsYkB0CLc0kkXdERh0TaSEPB4hNZNDyMacwRUocNUw&amp;__tn__=%2ANK-R">AI</a> Alliance forum. <a href="https://bit.ly/2QDmgmG?fbclid=IwAR0LMgS7j4P0lv970LU2rb4H7fmN3Lfsg4pSmEFiVVbka2qkiBLiE--Q4fk">http://bit.ly/2QDmgmG</a><p>Join to make your voice heard <a href="http://bit.ly/2l7xw8v">http://bit.ly/2l7xw8v</a><p><img style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; float: none; display: block;" alt="Image may contain: text" src="https://scontent.flhr5-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-0/p480x480/48406008_2129413543782863_7784154446157578240_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&amp;_nc_ht=scontent.flhr5-1.fna&amp;oh=58fa5b950d4056d647e76a2f03106583&amp;oe=5CD653B5">Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-62844435581777228732016-04-30T11:31:00.001+03:002016-04-30T11:31:42.136+03:00Levitating Camera<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ffuturism%2Fvideos%2Fvb.352364611609411%2F560497740796096%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-38550225244617643542016-04-30T11:26:00.001+03:002016-04-30T11:26:57.647+03:00AI beats humans at foosball<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fverge%2Fvideos%2Fvb.193742123995472%2F1085741701462172%2F%3Ftype%3D3&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" allowFullScreen="true"></iframe>Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-68365391981067733382015-11-10T07:53:00.001+02:002015-11-10T07:53:21.313+02:00Google Just Open Sourced TensorFlow, Its Artificial Intelligence Engine<p align="justify">TECH PUNDIT TIM O’Reilly had just tried the new Google Photos app, and he was amazed by the depth of its artificial intelligence. <p align="justify">O’Reilly was standing a few feet from Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page this past May, at a small cocktail reception for the press <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_I/O">at the annual Google I/O conference</a>—the centerpiece of the company’s year. Google had unveiled its <a href="https://photos.google.com/">personal photos app</a> earlier in the day, and<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_O%27Reilly">O’Reilly</a> marveled that if he typed something like “gravestone” into the search box, the app could find a photo of his uncle’s grave, taken so long ago. <p align="justify">The app uses an increasingly powerful form of artificial intelligence called <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/04/jeff-dean/">deep learning</a>. By analyzing thousands of photos of gravestones, this AI technology can learn to identify a gravestone it has never seen before. The same goes for cats and dogs, trees and clouds, flowers and food. <p align="justify">The Google Photos search engine isn’t perfect. But its accuracy is enormously impressive—so impressive that O’Reilly couldn’t understand why Google didn’t sell access to its AI engine via the Internet, <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/03/urs-google-story/">cloud-computing style</a>, letting others drive their apps with the same machine learning. That could be Google’s real money-maker, he said. After all, Google also uses this AI engine to <a href="http://www.wired.com/2013/02/android-neural-network/">recognize spoken words</a>, <a href="http://translate.google.com/about/intl/en_ALL/#">translate from one language to another</a>, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-10-26/google-turning-its-lucrative-web-search-over-to-ai-machines">improve Internet search results</a>, and more. The rest of the world could turn this tech towards so many other tasks, from <a href="http://www.wired.com/2014/10/chinese-google-making-big-bucks-using-ai-target-ads/">ad targeting</a> to <a href="http://www.wired.com/2015/11/baidu-the-chinese-google-is-teaching-ai-to-spot-malware/">computer security</a>. <p align="justify">Well, this morning, Google took O’Reilly’s idea further than even he expected. It’s not selling access to its deep learning engine. It’s open sourcing that engine, freely sharing the underlying code with the world at large. This software is called <a href="http://www.tensorflow.org/">TensorFlow</a>, and in literally giving the technology away, Google believes it can accelerate the evolution of AI. Through open source, outsiders can help improve on Google’s technology and, yes, return these improvements back to Google. <p align="justify">Read More - <a title="http://www.wired.com/2015/11/google-open-sources-its-artificial-intelligence-engine/?mbid=social_fb" href="http://www.wired.com/2015/11/google-open-sources-its-artificial-intelligence-engine/?mbid=social_fb">http://www.wired.com/2015/11/google-open-sources-its-artificial-intelligence-engine/?mbid=social_fb</a></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-52879873687360842442015-11-10T07:52:00.001+02:002015-11-10T07:52:00.139+02:00IBM brings Watson's cognitive computing to sports<p align="justify"><a href="http://www.ibm.com/us-en/">IBM</a> took cognitive computing into the sports world today with a trio of partnerships under which cognitive applications-powered by Watson will help prevent concussions, change the nature of training in golf and transform fans' game-day experiences. The partnerships with <a href="https://www.triaxtec.com/">Triax Technologies</a>, <a href="http://www.spare5.com/">Spare5</a> and <a href="http://www.113industries.com/">113 Industries </a>will use the power of cognitive computing in different ways. <p align="justify">"Cognitive is a new form of computing that represents a seismic shift in technology," Lauri Saft, vice president, IBM Watson Ecosystem, said in a statement today. "We've moved beyond systems that are programmed — the technologies most of us use today — to systems that understand, reason and learn. These latest partnerships exemplify the entrepreneurial nature of our Watson ecosystem. Like so many other industries, sports is awash in data, and cognitive computing allows IBM's partners like Triax Technologies, 113 Industries and Spare5 to apply deeper insights to all of that information to improve athlete performance and redefine the fan experience." <h5 align="justify">Reducing concussions</h5> <p align="justify">Triax Technologies develops and manufactures products to ensure the health and safety of athletes. Its new Triax Smart Impact Monitor (SIM) is a wearable sensor that can be embedded in headbands or skullcaps to track the force and frequency of head impacts. The company says (SIM) empowers parents, coaches and athletic trainers with the tools to improve player safety and refine technique in real-time. Using Watson language service, the device can factor in more diverse data sources to analyze sentiment and infer cognitive and social characteristics. <h5 align="justify">It's in the hole ...</h5> <p align="justify">Watson's deep learning, natural language and vision capabilities are powering Watson Golf Pro from Spare 5. The cognitive app is a personal caddy that amateur players can consult while at the driving range or on the course. It's been trained with a corpus of knowledge from contracted golf professionals on mechanics and drills. By "seeing" a golfer's swing, the app can provide feedback for improving that swing. <h5 align="justify">Keeping the fan engaged (and spending)</h5> <p align="justify">113 Industries is bringing Watson to hockey. It's working with the Pittsburgh Penguins to transform the fan game-day experience with 113 Industries' "Pi" service embedded with Watson natural language and cognitive capabilities. This allows the Penguins to analyze large volumes of fan-based data to develop specialized offers and services for fans at the CONSOL Energy Center. This includes concessions to merchandise and pre-/post-game entertainment. <p align="justify"><a title="http://www.cio.com/article/2995977/it-industry/ibm-brings-watsons-cognitive-computing-to-sports.html" href="http://www.cio.com/article/2995977/it-industry/ibm-brings-watsons-cognitive-computing-to-sports.html">http://www.cio.com/article/2995977/it-industry/ibm-brings-watsons-cognitive-computing-to-sports.html</a></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-19507407075632578122015-11-03T10:11:00.001+02:002015-11-03T10:11:36.894+02:00Artificial Intelligence Outperforms Human Data Scientists<p align="justify">Artificial intelligence may be poised to ease the shortage of data scientists who build models that explain and predict patterns in the ocean of “Big Data” representing today’s world. An MIT startup’s computer software has proved capable of building better predictive models than the majority of human researchers it competed against in several recent data science contests.&nbsp; <p align="justify">Until now, well-paid <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/at-work/tech-careers/is-data-science-your-next-career">data scientists</a> have relied on their human intuition to create and test computer models that can explain and predict patterns in data. But MIT’s “Data Science Machine” software represents a fully automated process capable of building such predictive computer models by identifying relevant features in raw data. Such a tool could make human data scientists even more effective by allowing them to build and test such predictive models in far less time. But it might also help more individuals and companies harness the power of Big Data without the aid of trained data scientists. <p align="justify">“I think the biggest potential is for increasing the pool of people who are capable of doing data science,” Max Kanter, a data scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and AI Lab and co-creator of the Data Science Machine software, told <em>IEEE Spectrum</em>. “If you look at the growth in demand for people with data science abilities, it’s far outpacing the number of people who have those skills.” <p align="justify">The Data Science Machine can automatically create accurate predictive models based on raw datasets within two to 12 hours; a team of human data scientists may require months. A <a href="http://www.jmaxkanter.com/static/papers/DSAA_DSM_2015.pdf">paper on the Data Science Machine</a> will be presented this week at the <a href="http://dsaa2015.lip6.fr/">IEEE International Conference on Data Science and Advanced Analytics</a> being held in Paris from 19–21 Oct. <p align="justify">Trained data scientists, who typically draw <a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/data-scientist-salary-SRCH_KO0,14.htm">salaries above $100,000 on average</a>, remain a coveted but scarce resource for companies as diverse as Facebook and Walmart. In 2011, the <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/features/big_data">McKinsey Global Institute</a> estimated that the United States alone might face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with the analytical skills necessary for data science. A 2012 issue of the <em>Harvard Business Review </em>declared data scientist as the <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/it/is-data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-our-time">sexiest job of the 21st century</a>. <p align="justify">The reason for such high demand for data scientists comes from Big Data’s revolutionary promise of tapping into vast collections of data—whether it’s the online behavior of social media users, the movements of financial markets worth trillions of dollars, or the billions of celestial objects spotted by telescopes—to explain and predict patterns in the huge datasets. Such models could help companies predict the future behavior of individual customers or aid astronomers in automatically identifying an object in the starry nighttime sky. <p align="justify">But how do you transform a sea of raw data into information that can help businesses or researchers identify and predict patterns? Human data scientists usually have to spend weeks or months working on their predictive computer algorithms. First, they sift through the raw data to identify key variables that could help predict the behavior of related observations over time. Then they must continuously test and refine those variables in a series of computer models that often use <a href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/diagnostics/the-algorithm-thats-hunting-ebola">machine learning techniques</a>. <p align="justify">Such a time-consuming part of the data scientists’ job description inspired Kanter, an MIT grad student at the time, and Kalyan Veeramachaneni, a research scientist at MIT’s Computer Science and AI Lab who acted as Kanter’s master’s thesis advisor, to try creating a computer program that could automate the biggest bottlenecks in data science. <p align="justify">Previous computer software programs aimed at solving such data science problems have tended to be one dimensional, focusing on problems particular to specific industries or fields. But Kanter and Veeramachaneni wanted their Data Science Machine software to be capable of tackling any general data science problem. Veeramachaneni in particular drew on his experience of seeing similar connections among the many industry data science problems he had worked on during his time at MIT.&nbsp; <p align="justify">Read More <p align="justify"><a title="http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/software/artificial-intelligence-outperforms-human-data-scientists?utm_campaign=Weekly+Notification-+IEEE+Spectrum+Tech+Alert&amp;utm_source=boomtrain&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=555a972628fbca1d260da1ba&amp;utm_content=Artificial+Intelligence+Outperforms+Human+Data+Scientists&amp;bt_alias=eyJ1c2VySWQiOiI2MjIyZGYxNC1lMTBmLTRiYjMtYWM3ZS02MjAzZjg1ZmZkNGQifQ%3D%3D" href="http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/software/artificial-intelligence-outperforms-human-data-scientists?utm_campaign=Weekly+Notification-+IEEE+Spectrum+Tech+Alert&amp;utm_source=boomtrain&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=555a972628fbca1d260da1ba&amp;utm_content=Artificial+Intelligence+Outperforms+Human+Data+Scientists&amp;bt_alias=eyJ1c2VySWQiOiI2MjIyZGYxNC1lMTBmLTRiYjMtYWM3ZS02MjAzZjg1ZmZkNGQifQ%3D%3D">http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/software/artificial-intelligence-outperforms-human-data-scientists?utm_campaign=Weekly+Notification-+IEEE+Spectrum+Tech+Alert&amp;utm_source=boomtrain&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=555a972628fbca1d260da1ba&amp;utm_content=Artificial+Intelligence+Outperforms+Human+Data+Scientists&amp;bt_alias=eyJ1c2VySWQiOiI2MjIyZGYxNC1lMTBmLTRiYjMtYWM3ZS02MjAzZjg1ZmZkNGQifQ%3D%3D</a></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-22139245564616001462015-11-03T10:09:00.001+02:002015-11-03T10:09:40.828+02:00Hilary Mason: Use data science and machine intelligence to build a better future<p align="justify">An algorithm can creatively reimagine the Mona Lisa. <p align="justify">Now what? <p align="justify">In the opening keynote of the <a href="http://gracehopper.anitaborg.org/calendar/grace-hopper-celebration-of-women-in-computing-2015/">Grace Hopper Women in Computing Conference 2015</a> in Houston, Texas, Fast Forward Labs CEO Hilary Mason talked about the burgeoning world of data science and machine intelligence, and several of the considerations for how they will affect the future. <p align="justify">But first, in a subtle nod to the <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/article/ilooklikeanengineer-how-women-are-using-social-media-to-bust-stereotypes-and-redirect-the-stem/">#ILookLikeAnEngineer movement</a>, Mason introduced herself like this: "I'm a computer scientist, a data scientist, a software engineer, I'm also a CEO and I look like all of those things." <p align="justify">And then she dove into machine intelligence. <p align="justify">"Machines are starting to do things that we might have thought were more in the creative domain of humans," she said, showing several computer-generated takes on the classic Da Vinci painting. Or, she also pointed out some of her favorite data-based apps that have already changed the ways that users function, like Google Maps, <a href="https://foursquare.com/">Foursquare</a>, or <a href="http://darkskyapp.com/">Dark Sky.</a> <p align="justify">Mason outlined reasons why data science and machine learning are having a moment: we have the computing power, we know what to do with data when we have it, and, we're getting access to more and more of it. <p align="justify">Looking at her own history with data, Mason described a moment she and a co-worker had while she was working at Bitly as chief scientist. They were making changes to a Hadoop cluster they had. In order to test a job, they decided to find out what the cutest animal on the internet was. <p align="justify">"We had just used hours of compute time and a petabyte of data to answer the most frivolous question," she said. That ability, though, to "play" with data is important. Mason also referenced a <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/prtyny/disco-dog-the-smartphone-controlled-led-dog-vest">Kickstarter for a LED light up "disco dog" suite</a> — it's a smart phone-controlled vest for your dog. <p align="justify">"When you start to see the ridiculous things occurring, you know something interesting is happening because that means the technology is something we all can use," Mason said. <p align="justify">But, in building new things, even silly things it's important to remember unintended and unforeseen consequences. For example, in 1999, Sony was building and selling a toy robotic dog called <a href="http://www.sony-aibo.com/">Aibo</a>. Recently, though, they stopped supporting them, so if someone happened to still be using their robodog and it malfunctioned, there was no reviving it. And that was actually more common than one would think, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/technology/robotica-sony-aibo-robotic-dog-mortality.html?_r=0">leading to funerals</a> for those longtime robotic pets by bereaved owners. <p align="justify">Read More <p align="justify"><a title="http://www.techrepublic.com/article/hilary-mason-use-data-science-and-machine-intelligence-to-build-a-better-future/" href="http://www.techrepublic.com/article/hilary-mason-use-data-science-and-machine-intelligence-to-build-a-better-future/">http://www.techrepublic.com/article/hilary-mason-use-data-science-and-machine-intelligence-to-build-a-better-future/</a></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-67210656192055945192015-10-30T11:07:00.001+02:002015-10-30T11:07:38.486+02:00Capturing a Human Figure Through a Wall using RF Signals<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7LTr02cJkiA" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-66395002585511279992015-10-30T10:58:00.001+02:002015-10-30T10:58:49.722+02:00Brillo<p align="justify">Brillo brings the simplicity and speed of software development to hardware for IoT with an embedded OS, core services, developer kit, and developer console.</p> <p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2rPkbyyviGI" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-77049743067984337972015-10-14T09:42:00.001+03:002015-10-14T09:42:18.654+03:00The future of flying robots | Vijay Kumar | TEDxPenn<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sj3Pn_pogXw" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-32195564116168341902015-10-13T19:46:00.001+03:002015-10-13T19:46:21.871+03:00Turning Phones into 3D Scanners<p><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/o6BraEeLI5g" frameborder="0" width="560" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-922301731186524089.post-58374890490264384742015-10-08T10:54:00.001+03:002015-10-08T10:54:50.053+03:00Computers can recognise a complication of diabetes that can lead to blindness<p align="justify">ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) can sometimes be put to rather whimsical uses. In 2012 Google announced that one of its computers, after watching thousands of hours of YouTube videos, had trained itself to identify cats. Earlier this year a secretive AI firm called DeepMind, bought by Google in 2014, reported in <em>Nature</em> that it had managed to train a computer to play a series of classic video games, often better than a human could, using nothing more than the games’ on-screen graphics. <p align="justify">But the point of such diversions is to illustrate that, thanks to a newish approach going by the name of "deep learning", computers increasingly possess the pattern-recognition skills—identifying faces, interpreting pictures, listening to speech and the like—that were long thought to be the preserve of humans. Researchers, from startups to giant corporations, are now planning to put AI to work to solve more serious problems. <p align="justify">One such organisation is the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF). The disease in the charity’s sights is diabetic retinopathy, one of the many long-term complications of diabetes. It is caused by damage to the tiny blood vessels that supply the retina. Untreated, it can lead to total loss of vision. Around 80% of diabetics will develop retinal damage after a decade; in rich countries it is one of the leading causes of blindness in the young and middle-aged. Much of the damage can be prevented with laser treatment, drugs or surgery if caught early, but there are few symptoms at first. The best bet is therefore to offer frequent check-ups to diabetics, with trained doctors examining their retinas for subtle but worrying changes. <p align="justify">But diabetes is common and doctors are busy. Inspired by recent advances in AI, the CHCF began wondering if computers might be able to do the job of examining retinas cheaply and more quickly. <p align="justify">Being medics, rather than AI researchers, the CHCF turned for help to a website called Kaggle, which organises competitions for statisticians and data scientists. (It was founded by Anthony Goldbloom, who once worked as an intern at <em>The Economist</em>.) The CHCF uploaded a trove of thousands of images of retinas, both diseased and healthy, stumped up the cash for a $100,000 prize, and let Kaggle’s members—who range from graduate students to teams working for AI companies—get to grips with the problem. <p align="justify">Read More: <a title="http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21664943-computers-can-recognise-complication-diabetes-can-lead-blindness-now" href="http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21664943-computers-can-recognise-complication-diabetes-can-lead-blindness-now">http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21664943-computers-can-recognise-complication-diabetes-can-lead-blindness-now</a></p> Savvas Chatzichristofisnoreply@blogger.com0